Washington County election officials seek more detail on redistricting

In this file photo stickers for early voters sit in a container Friday during early voting in the primary election at the Benton County clerk's office in Bentonville. 
 (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff)
In this file photo stickers for early voters sit in a container Friday during early voting in the primary election at the Benton County clerk's office in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County election officials Wednesday continued redrawing districts for justices of the peace with an eye on having a final map available for public viewing by Nov. 18.

The Election Commission considered four maps showing possible district boundaries for the Quorum Court's 15 justices of the peace Wednesday but agreed it wanted to see more maps and have more information at hand before making a decision.

"The more maps we have, the more we can see where the problems will lie," Renee Oelschlaeger, commission chairman, said Wednesday.

Oelschlaeger asked at a meeting last week for an additional map showing districts with more of a mixture of urban and rural areas. One map dividing Fayetteville into more districts was shown Wednesday. Jennifer Price, election director for the county, said a map showing Springdale divided among several districts is being prepared.

When the new map that showed how Fayetteville might be divided among multiple districts was considered Wednesday, Commissioner Max Deitchler, the lone Democrat on the three-member panel, said it was the worst of the four proposals.

"It carves up the city of Fayetteville in a way I don't think we're supposed to follow," Deitchler said.

Commission member Jim Estes said he wants the commission to consider future growth when deciding how to draw the district boundaries. Estes said shifting the current population levels while staying within 10% of the median population is legal and could reduce problems with population imbalance due to growth over the next decade.

Deitchler said deliberately drawing districts with large population differences could be challenged legally, and he said the commission shouldn't assume the more urban areas in the county won't continue to grow.

"You could argue that violates the one-person, one-vote principle," Deitchler said of deliberately skewing the population of the districts. "And Fayetteville is pushing for infill development. Growth happens in the cities, and this could be an opportunity for the districts to be extremely lopsided."

Deitchler asked Price to request a map or other information showing growth patterns in the county.

The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission is drawing the maps for the county. The four maps presented to the county are posted on the Washington County website at washingtoncountyar.gov under the Election Commission, should anyone want to comment on the proposals.

The districts are redrawn after every U.S. census, and state and federal laws require the districts have roughly equal population. Washington County's population after the 2020 census is 245,871, according to information from Price. The target population for each of the 15 districts is 15,572, with up to a 10% variance having been established by the courts as acceptable.

The population of the districts ranges from a high of 20,019 in District 10, represented by Robert Dennis, to a low of 13,800 in District 14, represented by Jim Wilson.

Price said the Regional Planning Commission will draw maps to fit any request made by the commission.

The Election Commission agreed to meet at 1 p.m. Nov. 10 at the county courthouse to continue working on redistricting. Oelschlaeger said she wants the panel to narrow the options and have a final proposed map ready Nov. 18. Price said a meeting for the public to view the proposed map could be held at 5 p.m. Nov. 18, just before the regular Quorum Court meeting at 6 p.m.

More News

Political redistricting

Boundaries for political districts are redrawn every 10 years after the results of the U.S. Census are compiled. In Arkansas, the Legislature draws the boundaries for the U.S. Congressional districts. The state Board of Apportionment — made up of the governor, secretary of state and attorney general — draws boundaries for the state House and Senate districts. Cities and school districts draw their own boundaries as needed and county election commissions are responsible for drawing boundaries for justice of the peace districts.

Source: Staff report

Upcoming Events